{"id":236407,"date":"2024-03-28T13:19:03","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T17:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coreywilkspsyd.com\/?p=236407"},"modified":"2024-03-28T13:19:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T17:19:06","slug":"how-to-make-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coreywilkspsyd.com\/how-to-make-money\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Money in a Gold Rush"},"content":{"rendered":"
A timeless business insight that changed how I look at entrepreneurship:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understand who actually makes money during a gold rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what I mean\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Historically, there was the actual Gold Rush, right? Where tons of people travelled out west hoping to strike it rich by prospecting for gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tons of people, hoping for untold riches, enthusiastically poured what little money they had into investing in the \u201cright\u201d equipment to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lucky few actually found enough gold to retire. A few more found enough to make the trip worthwhile. But most lost more money than they made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So who actually made money during this Gold Rush?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Simple: The people selling shovels (and other equipment).<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if you understand this concept, it can change how you look at entrepreneurship, too. So you can build a successful business and avoid getting conned by charlatans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what I mean\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can<\/em> make money in a gold rush by digging for gold. But this approach is gambling\u2014there\u2019s no real way of knowing if it\u2019ll work out. The only thing that\u2019s guaranteed is that you need to buy equipment that facilitates your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Savvy entrepreneurs understand this difference\u2014finding gold<\/em> is a gamble, but needing shovels<\/em> to find gold is a guarantee.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why gamble when you have a guarantee staring you in the face?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I said savvy entrepreneurs understand this. I didn\u2019t say savvy and morally principled<\/em> entrepreneurs understand this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some entrepreneurs are charlatans who sell shovels in an amoral Machiavellian way, while others are ethical entrepreneurs who sell high-quality shovels that genuinely help people reach their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning to see this difference will give you an insight into how to succeed in business most people miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let\u2019s start with some examples of this concept gone wrong, then we\u2019ll move into how to use it effectively to actually help people\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlatans will sell you one thing (a fancy shovel to dig for gold), but they themselves don\u2019t make money doing that thing (digging for gold)\u2014they make money doing something else (selling fancy shovels).<\/p>\n\n\n\n But they claim the thing they\u2019re selling will make you<\/em> money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what I mean\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you\u2019re broke and desperately digging for gold, the charlatans are happily walking away counting the gold you gave them to buy their bullshit shovels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlatans have been doing this throughout history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From actual snake oil salesmen hocking bullshit remedies they themselves didn\u2019t use, to modern motivational speakers who actually make money speaking and not whatever bullshit methodology to achieve your dream life they\u2019re selling you, to recent things like crypto, NFTs, and AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlatans claim to sell the secrets to success. But they don\u2019t make money using <\/em>those secrets\u2014they make money selling <\/em>those secrets.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So don\u2019t look at what a charlatan claims to sell. Look at what they\u2019re actually making money selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlatans live by the motto: Get your bag.<\/em> Meaning get whatever you can out of your customers at all costs, then get away as fast as you can.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, some people who buy shovels from charlatans do find gold, but most just end up with a collection of fancy shovels sitting around collecting dust and nothing else to show for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it\u2019s actual gold digging like back in the day, courses, crypto, workshops, software, AI, or whatever \u201cgold rush\u201d will happen in the future\u2014this lesson timelessly applies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at the people selling shovels, because they\u2019re the ones actually making the majority of the money.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When there\u2019s a gold rush, take a second to step back and evaluate where the money is actually moving\u2014who\u2019s making it using guaranteed methods and who\u2019s gambling?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask: What are the shovels? Who\u2019s buying them? Who\u2019s selling them?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding this concept can make you a more successful entrepreneur for two reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, most successful businesses make money selling shovels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what I mean\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you see a shovel as a way to facilitate your ideal customer\u2019s desired transformation, you\u2019ll make a high-quality shovel that actually helps them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if your ideal customer wants to find gold, and they need a shovel to do that (plus whatever other equipment like a prospecting pan and a pick), then you can focus on selling high-quality equipment tailored to their needs that increases their chances of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few good examples of ethical entrepreneurs and companies selling shovels to actually help people succeed (some of the below links are affiliate links, but I\u2019ve used and like all of them):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kajabi <\/a>makes money selling a course hosting platform <\/strong>(to people who want to make money selling courses). I\u2019ve hosted my courses Build an Intentional Life<\/a> and World-Class Coaching<\/a> on Kajabi and use them for most of my landing pages. Their \u201cshovels\u201d include a website builder, CRM, course hosting, email marketing, and tons of other features that legitimately facilitate my desired transformation<\/em> of building my business and making money with courses and coaching. If you want to check out Kajabi, this link<\/a> extends their trial to 30 days. And if you want to learn how I used their 30-day trial to generate enough sales to pay for seven years’ worth<\/em> of their service before the trial expired, check out this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ghost <\/a>makes money selling a no-code website platform <\/strong>(to people who want to make money with a website). My main website is on WordPress, and it\u2019s honestly a pain in the ass to manage. So I\u2019m building new project (more details coming soon<\/em>) on Ghost because they\u2019re fantastic at making your website just work. Built-in analytics, tons of integrations, an easy editor to streamline writing articles, and other cool features facilitate my desired transformation of building an incredible website (and monetizing it) super simple and easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fathom Analytics<\/a> makes money selling analytics <\/strong>(to people who want to make data-driven decisions to make money in their business). We all know Google Analytics requires a technical degree to understand, and muggle technology just isn\u2019t my thing. Fathom Analytics makes understanding how my content is performing, where I\u2019m getting traffic, and the overall trajectory of my website in a super easy to understand dashboard. They facilitate my desired transformation<\/em> of making data-driven decisions about my business in an easy to understand dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ConvertKit <\/a>makes money selling an email service provider <\/strong>(to people who want to make money using email). The backbone of my business is in my email list. ConvertKit gives me tons of options to capture emails, segment my audience, set up automations and welcome sequences to build a relationship with my audience, and send my newsletter<\/a>. ConvertKit facilitates my desired transformation<\/em> of developing a deeper relationship with my audience, sell on autopilot, and share nuanced insights (via my newsletter) I can\u2019t share on social media because of character limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if you really want to make the best shovels for your customers, then you need the insights you only get from using <\/em>the shovels you\u2019re selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of my favorite examples of people who are selling the very shovels they\u2019ve used to \u201cfind gold\u201d in their own lives and business:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Genuine entrepreneurs live by the motto: Help your customers get their bag.<\/em> Meaning do whatever you can to help your customers succeed, then continue supporting them as much as you can.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Figuring out what your ideal customer needs to succeed, then creating it and offering it to them, is how you create a win-win situation. They achieve their desired transformation, and you make money selling a shovel that facilitates their desired transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the crux of ethical entrepreneurship<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n See the difference between charlatans and ethical entrepreneurs selling shovels?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlatans focus only on themselves and take advantage of their customers. Ethical entrepreneurs focus on their customers and take advantage of knowing what their customers need so they can provide it to help them succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of business comes down to selling shovels\u2014not digging for gold.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So in any gold rush, ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Secret to Making Money<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Shovel-Selling Charlatans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Ethical Shovel Dealers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n